Review: Blood Upon The Sand

Blood Upon the Sand
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Çeda, now a Blade Maiden in service to the kings of Sharakhai, trains as one of their elite warriors, gleaning secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She knows the dark history of the asirim—that hundreds of years ago they were enslaved to the kings against their will—but when she bonds with them as a Maiden, chaining them to her, she feels their pain as if her own. They hunger for release, they demand it, but with the power of the gods compelling them, they find the yokes around their necks unbreakable.

Çeda could become the champion they’ve been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. After the victory won by the Moonless Host in the Wandering King’s palace, the kings are hungry for blood. They scour the city, ruthless in their quest for revenge. Unrest spreads like a plague, a thing Emre and his new allies in the Moonless Host hope to exploit, but with the kings and their god-given powers, and the Maidens and their deadly ebon blades, there is little hope of doing so.

When Çeda and Emre are drawn into a plot of the blood mage, Hamzakiir, they sail across the desert to learn the truth, and a devastating secret is revealed, one that may very well shatter the power of the hated kings. They plot quickly to take advantage of it, but it may all be undone if Çeda cannot learn to navigate the shifting tides of power in Sharakhai and control the growing anger of the asirim that threatens to overwhelm her. 

I have been so pumped for this sequel, I cannot even, with how Twelve Kings ended...I needed the next book! I consoled myself with the novella, but it wasn't enough. And now...I've finally read it! I'm so excited by where this series is going, and this book was full of twists and turns and another ending that has you wanting to scream because you're so curious...but you're going to have to wait soooo long for the next book! 

Blood Upon The Sand has an action filled opening, and immediately draws you in to the plot. You're right there in the scene with Ceda and from that point on, I was lost in the world of the book. It was easy to get pulled back in to the world of the book and pick up where we left off last time. 

This book makes it very apparent how much Ceda has changed since we first met her way back in book one. She was always a strong character, but she's changed and developed so much over the course of the two books, and after everything that happens in this book I'm intrigued to see how that will change her...or what it'll change her in to. We get lots of flashbacks to flesh out Cedas past, and the relevant new information that's dropped in this book, which I enjoyed because they're nice breaks from the main narrative. Plus I'm totally curious about Ceda's past and this book answers some big questions from the first book! There are definitely some surprises both to do with Ceda and to do with others. I literally felt so dumb for not putting some of it together. In case it wasn't obvious...I still totally love Ceda and her parts where my favourite! 

We also got some parts from the Kings POV, as well as Ramahd and Emre. I quite liked Emre's parts as well, plus the Kings because they where intriguing. There's some....turmoil amongst the Kings shall we say and it was interesting to see the King's POV. Ramahds POV I was kind of meh about. I remembered almost everything about Ceda and Emre, and the Kings. I struggled to remember Ramahd and Meryam and I really didn't think much of Meryam this book, I'm not going to lie. There are a lot of characters, and I did find it hard to keep track of them in this book, especially as it's been a while since the first book! 

I have to say, Emre has changed a lot too since the first book and I really like Emre! I connected with both he and Ceda, and their motivations, and I may or may not ship Ceda and Emre. Like seriously Emre, sort it out because we all know Ceda's too stubborn! I also wanted to mention Davud because I vaguely remembered him from the first book and I liked him and what we saw of him, so I was intrigued to see him take on a bigger role in this book. It was nice to see more of him, and I'm incredibly intrigued to see where his story is going to go! 

Along with the familiar faces, there are some new faces too! Sumeya I'm including as a new face, because we didn't see her as much in the first book. Now...I actually really like her. And I really, really felt for her towards the end after learning more about her. I loved her relationship with Ceda and I'm kinda hoping she'll side with Ceda and everyone because I love her! I quite like the other members of Ceda's hand as well. Aside from one. But more on her in a moment. I lost my liking for a couple of characters in this book it has to be said. Looking at you Zaide. Looking at you hard. Also Ramahd, vaguely remembered him but he's totally dropped Ceda in it. As well as a couple of others. 

Now. The member of Ceda's hand that I didn't like. Yndris. How I hated her. She was a spoiled, bratty, immature little girl and she's the daughter of the Confessor King. She was a constant thorn in Ceda's side and I was hoping for her death continuously. What a little cow. Seriously. I was reading like..."We should totally just kill Yndris!" *rage face*. If she's still alive in the third book I'm going to be annoyed, anytime she was in a scene I was just....ugh. 

The plot is complex, there's plenty of threads and the book is huge, but the intrigue and Ceda keep you reading. There are starting to get to be a lot of things and characters to remember which was hard at times, especially as I didn't have time to re-read Twelve Kings before I started this! The novella was tied in quite nicely if I'm remembering correctly, and there are many epic battles. I loved the dynamic between Ceda and Emre, and Ceda and the rest of her Hand. I was on edge watching Ceda walk a tightrope between her secrets and what she was up to and her Hand and Yndris who keeps stalking her. There's plot twists, and shocking secrets and questions answered and then the ending. Ceda going off like that...I'm so curious about what's going to happen next! 

Wishing For Wednesday #108

Happy Wednesday guyyyyss! 
I'm coming at you from my scheduled posts because right about now I'm probably getting poked and prodded and trying on dresses and shoes and such. Yep. Costume fitting time! I know some of you guys don't like scheduled posts, but I only wrote this last night, I'm not that organised! 
ANYWAY. First up today I've got a sequel that I've been looking forward to for a while, the first book was sooooo good and I recently read and reviewed a novella for the series....and I'm even more excited for the next book! 
Next up is a book that I wasn't sure was being published over here and I uhmed and ahed over it...but now it's being published over here! Ghosts freak me out, so logically I shouldn't read this....but I will...and I'll get creeped out....and yeah. We must suffer for our bookishness! Besides, there's gonna be romance, so I can handle the creepiness! 

Blood Upon The Sand

Çeda, now a Blade Maiden in service to the kings of Sharakhai, trains as one of their elite warriors, gleaning secrets even as they send her on covert missions to further their rule. She knows the dark history of the asirim—that hundreds of years ago they were enslaved to the kings against their will—but when she bonds with them as a Maiden, chaining them to her, she feels their pain as if her own. They hunger for release, they demand it, but with the power of the gods compelling them, they find the yokes around their necks unbreakable.

Çeda could become the champion they’ve been waiting for, but the need to tread carefully has never been greater. After the victory won by the Moonless Host in the Wandering King’s palace, the kings are hungry for blood. They scour the city, ruthless in their quest for revenge. Unrest spreads like a plague, a thing Emre and his new allies in the Moonless Host hope to exploit, but with the kings and their god-given powers, and the Maidens and their deadly ebon blades, there is little hope of doing so.

When Çeda and Emre are drawn into a plot of the blood mage, Hamzakiir, they sail across the desert to learn the truth, and a devastating secret is revealed, one that may very well shatter the power of the hated kings. They plot quickly to take advantage of it, but it may all be undone if Çeda cannot learn to navigate the shifting tides of power in Sharakhai and control the growing anger of the asirim that threatens to overwhelm her. 

Blood Upon the Sand is out February 9th, pre-order your copy....here!
Add it to your TBR...here! 

Ghost House

After the loss of her mother, Chloe Kennedy starts seeing the ghosts that haunted her as a young girl again. Spending time at her grandmother's country estate in the south of England is her chance to get away from her grief and the spirits that haunt her. Until she meets a mysterious stranger…

Alexander Reade is 157 years dead, with secrets darker than the lake surrounding Grange Hall and a lifelike presence that draws Chloe more strongly than any ghost before. But the bond between them awakens the vengeful spirit of Alexander's past love, Isobel. And she will stop at nothing to destroy anyone who threatens to take him from her.

To stop Isobel, Chloe must push her developing abilities to their most dangerous limits, even if it means losing Alex forever… and giving the hungry dead a chance to claim her for their own.

Ghost House is out February 9th, pre-order your copy...here!

Add it to your TBR...here!

Review: Of Sand And Malice Made

Of Sand and Malice Made 
Rating: 4/5 
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Çeda is the youngest pit fighter in the history of the great desert city of Sharakhai. In this brilliant new story, a prequel to Twelve Kings, she has already made her name in the arena as the fearsome, undefeated White Wolf. None but her closest friends and allies know her true identity.

But this all changes when she crosses the path of Rümayesh, one of the sadistic creatures known as ehrekh which were forged long ago by the god of chaos. They are usually desert dwellers, but this one lurks in the dark corners of Sharakhai, toying with and preying on humans. As Rümayesh works to unmask the White Wolf and claim Çeda for her own, Çeda's struggle becomes a battle for her friends, her life, and her very soul.  

When I read Twelve Kings, I completely enjoyed it for a multitude of different reasons! It was so good you guys! I've been so excited to read this and get to see more of Çeda's life before Twelve Kings. I loved getting to dive back in to the world of the book, it all came flooding back as I started to read! I think I'll have to recommend that you guys read Twelve Kings before reading this, because Twelve Kings has all the world building that you need! I don't want you guys to read this and be confused about things because you don't know what this or that is, it'll take away from the book! I mean, I spotted a few things that needed more explanation, but then at the same time, you could read this before and then get all excited to find out what it means...so actually you could read it either way. Look at that, I just talked myself in a circle! 

One of the things I loved about Twelve Kings was it's intricate and rich background history and legends and myths, so I obviously loved getting to see one of the legends/myths of the world up close and personal in this book!  I previously loved Çeda's determination, intelligence and her skills, so I loved getting to see an earlier version of her than was in Twelve Kings. Getting to see her train and fight. I so badly wanted to see more of her and my prayers where answered! 

This may only be like 200 pages, but it's still richly imagined, well written, fast paced and has lots of mythology. It provides an insight in to a younger and earlier Çeda, and you get to see Emre too! There's also appearances from a couple of other familiar faces throughout the novella, and I loved getting to see them again, because I enjoyed the characters so much that I wanted to see more of them! 

Of Sand and Malice Made is a brilliant addition to The Song of the Shattered Sands series, it adds another layer to world and characters, and lets you get to know some of the characters even more, so you can see how much they've developed and changed when you read Twelve Kings. There's stunning ilustrations, a fast pace, and a brilliantly rich story that draws you in and keeps your attention, while the twists keep you on your toes! 

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Twelve Kings

Twelve Kings
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy 
Source: Copy courtesy of the publisher! 

Sharakhai, the great city of the desert, center of commerce and culture, has been ruled from time immemorial by twelve kings—cruel, ruthless, powerful, and immortal. With their army of Silver Spears, their elite company of Blade Maidens, and their holy defenders, the terrifying asirim, the Kings uphold their positions as undisputed, invincible lords of the desert. There is no hope of freedom for any under their rule.

Or so it seems, until Çeda, a brave young woman from the west end slums, defies the Kings’ laws by going outside on the holy night of Beht Zha’ir. What she learns that night sets her on a path that winds through both the terrible truths of the Kings’ mysterious history and the hidden riddles of her own heritage. Together, these secrets could finally break the iron grip of the Kings’ power...if the nigh-omnipotent Kings don’t find her first.

Oh my this book was....sweeping, engrossing, absorbing...astounding. It really gave my imagination a stretch and was filled with all the things I love in a good fantasy novel, I couldn't put it down and as the book was coming to a close I was desperately hoping for it to carry on longer. The wait for the next book will be difficult, as while some questions where answered, there where many left unanswered and I'll probably spend time thinking back on those questions. Not to mention the fact that the next book, and in fact the rest of the series, was expertly set up without sacrificing any of the plot of this book. It was a rich fantasy read and the kind you end up completely obsessed with and fully invested in. 

There is nothing quite like a book that starts off with a cracking fight scene, you're straight in there and you just know you're going to love it. From that point it was all go really, there was plenty of action as you're drawn in to the world and start to learn about it. And what a world it is. But more on that in a moment. We're talking action right now, and the book has plenty of it. Fight scenes that will have your pulse racing and have you on the edge of your seat, and kind of have you wishing you where as badass as Çeda. They where perfectly written and you could practically see it happening before your eyes, and along with the fast pace, you end up pretty much glued to the book. 

As for the world, it was astounding and so fantastically crafted. It was so vivid you could smell the smells of the bazaar, see Çeda and her friends, feel the atmosphere and the vibe of the place. It pulls you in to the world of the book perfectly and has you completely engrossed. I don't think I have accurate words to describe just how completely amazing the world building was. I'm so itching to see more of the world that was created, you get the impression it's fairly extensive and there's much of it to be explored, and I hope we can in the next book! 

The book also has a very rich background history to it, as well as intricate legends and myths. I was fascinated reading about this other world and their history, politics, Gods, customs and so on. Completely riveted and loving reading every little bit about it, especially as all of it was woven in to the plot instead of one massive info dump. The sections of it in the plot that where kind of chunky, where written so compellingly that you didn't really notice if it was a long passage just on the history/mythology of it, and you always wanted to know more and more about the world. 

Çeda is my kind of character. I loved her determination and tenacity, her intelligence, her skills and learning more about her page by page and in each flashback chapter. You rooted for her from the start, and then more and more as you learned more. You where on her side, willing her to do well, to achieve what she wanted. Like if some other character was mean to her, then you kinda disliked that character and where like "boo you". I can't describe quite what it is, but I just loved her. I wanted to know more about her, she came alive off the page and helped to bring the world of the book to life. I just understood her and how she operated. 

There's a cast of incredibly interesting and colourful characters in the book, each as lively as Çeda, each so well written that they come to life off the page. Emre, who had such a depth of backstory to him, such emotion and who you kind of wanted to smack at times, but liked him nonetheless and kind of rooted for him to do the right thing. Ramahd, who you felt for but also....kinda wanted to smack because clearly Meryam was up to no freaking God and he's completely blind to it or whatever. He, like Emre, had a tragic backstory and there was more to him than met the eye. The Kings, you get one King's point of view along with Emre, Ramahd and Çeda and he was an...interesting point of view, he's clearly playing some kind of game but we still don't know what. Each King is so different from the others and we didn't get to meet all of them properly, so I'm excited to meet more of them properly. 

These are just some of the main characters. There are plenty of other characters, The Blade Maidens, I'm so eager to learn more about them, particularly the ones in Çeda's Hand. We where just starting to get to know them towards the end of this book. There's Macide and his...group, who are most certainly more than they appear, but I can't say more because spoilers. The Asirim who have an interesting background and who you want to know more about because you want to understand them. For most of the book they're these incredibly sinister figures and then towards the end your perception of them changes entirely. There's so many other characters who where so well characterised and brought to life despite the fact they where a lesser character and not seen often. 

There are different POV's, like I mentioned above, and they each add interesting threads to the main threads of the story being woven. The plot really does thicken with each POV change and new bit of information learned. Not to mention the flashback chapters that add plenty of extra threads. You end up with such a deep understanding of the world and characters, as well as knowing something big is coming and not all is as it seems. Each change is perfectly timed and smoothly changes from narrative to narrative, each as engaging as the last. 

I realize I've been mentioning all these characters and rich and intricate history to the world. Don't get me wrong though. I should mention that while the world has a complex structure to it, it's described so you can easily understand and come to grips with it fairly early on. Everything after that just adds to it rather than adding confusion, it enhances your understanding of the world and takes you deeper in to the world. 

Twelve Kings is easy to read and follow, is what I'm saying, it's not over complicated with the writing or having too many characters to keep track of without some kind of spreadsheet, like with Game of Thrones. It's complex and intricate without confusing you or making it hard to read. It's a complex fantasy you truly can't put down and enjoy because you can easily get to grips with the world and who's who and everything else. You never felt like the book was too long or like it was dragging, you actually wanted more and more and wanted it to carry on for a good couple hundred more pages. 

I loved all of the Gods and mythology behind them. Now that is one area I really want to know more about because again, there's clearly more than meets the eye and it's one of the incredibly fascinating areas. I'd love to actually see more of them in the next book too because I'm so intrigued by them. 

Twelve Kings is a blend of past and present, like I've already mentioned, there are looks in to the past that show you what happened to bring the characters to the place they are at when we meet them in the book, that show you how they became the way they are and give you an incredibly deep understanding of the character. The flashbacks answer questions about characters, and the flashbacks are always relevant to an upcoming chapter or a chapter that had recently gone by. A lot of the time I read the flashback chapters and I was like "aaaaaah". 

As well as this fantastically done blend, and a complex plot, there where so many twists and turns and these twists and turns got more shocking as you raced towards the end of the book. I was always surprised, I'd have kind of half worked out a reveal and then be either, you know, half right, or completely wrong or kind of right but with an added bit of information I hadn't worked out. The book kept me on my toes that's for sure! 

Twelve Kings is a skilfully written, complex and engrossing book, set within a rich and vividly created world with characters that, no matter how big a part they have, come to life off the page due to their characterisation and depth. The plot is thrilling, compelling, intricate and gives us one part of a large overall story that's going to be one hell of a ride. You find yourself constantly surprised, caught up in moments of suspense, and practically holding your breath during the fantastically written fight scenes. There's rich mythology and history to the world that helps bring it to life, and the book, while complex, is still easy to get to grips with concerning said rich history and politics. I loved every page and can't wait for the next book to get back to the world!